Method for manufacturing of three-dimensional freestanding porous thin-graphite with hierarchical porosity

The present invention includes an apparatus and a method of making a three dimensional graphite structure with a controlled porosity comprising: plating a metal layer on at least one of a nickel, an iron or a cobalt foam substrate; annealing the metal and the nickel, iron or cobalt foam into a porous metal-nickel, iron or cobalt catalyst, wherein the catalyst has a smooth and a porous surface; etching the smooth surface of the annealed porous metal-nickel, iron or cobalt catalyst; growing a carbonaceous layer on the porous surface of the annealed porous metal-nickel, iron or cobalt catalyst; and completely etching the porous metal-nickel, iron or cobalt catalyst to obtain the graphite layer.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

High-performance artificial micro/nanomachines and their bioapplications

Artificial micro/nanomachines are micrometer or nanometer scale mechanical devices that convert diverse energy sources into controlled mechanical motions. The development and applications of these micro/nanomachines are among the most pressing challenges in the research field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this dissertation, we report innovative designs and operations of artificial micro/nanomachines for bioapplications in biochemical sensing, biomolecule capture, drug delivery and release. Based on the electric tweezers, innovative rotary nanomotors are bottom-up assembled with high efficiency from nanoscale building blocks, which are massively fabricated and less than 1 μm in all dimensions. After assembling, the rotary nanomotors achieve an ultrafast speed up to 18,000 rpm, an ultradurable operation lifetime of 80 hours, and over 1.1 million rotation cycles. To explore diverse alternative energy inputs for nanomotors, we also applied electric tweezers in the guided manipulation of chemical nanomotors: the motions of chemical nanomotors are aligned along the direction of AC electric fields and their speeds are modulated by the DC electric fields. The prowess of the manipulation of chemical nanomotors by the electric tweezers is demonstrated for applications in cargo delivery to designated microdocks and assembling of chemical nanomotors for powering rotary nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) devices. To integrate the function of Raman sensing on the micro/nanomachines, plasmonic nanomotors and bio-photonic-plasmonic micromotors with silver (Ag) nanoparticle coating are designed and fabricated, which provide ultrasensitive detection of biochemicals by Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The plasmonic nanomotors are designed with nanoporous superstructures, providing high capacities of drug loading and large numbers of hotspots. The plasmonic nanomotors also actively manipulate molecules and tune the release rate in electric fields due to the induced electrokinetic effect. The bio-photonic-plasmonic micromotors based on biosilica diatom frustules are applied in the capture and detection of DNA molecules, which are significantly accelerated during the rotation of the micromotors. The fundamental mechanism is investigated and attributed to the reduction of Nernst diffusion layer caused by the rotation. The innovations of artificial micro/nanomachines including concept, design, fabrication, manipulation, and bioapplications in this dissertation, are expected to inspire various research areas including NEMS, nanorobotics, microfluidics, biochemical delivery, and diagnostic sensingMaterials Science and Engineerin

Electric-Field Guided Precision Manipulation of Catalytic Nanomotors for Cargo Delivery and Powering Nanoelectromechanical Devices

We report a controllable and precision approach in manipulating catalytic nanomotors by strategically applied electric (E-) fields in three dimensions (3-D). With the high controllability, the catalytic nanomotors have demonstrated new versa-tility in capturing, delivering, and releasing of cargos to designated locations as well as in-situ integration with nanome-chanical devices (NEMS) to chemically power the actuation. With combined AC and DC E-fields, catalytic nanomotors can be accurately aligned by the AC E-fields and instantly change their speeds by the DC E-fields. Within the 3-D orthog-onal microelectrode sets, the in-plane transport of catalytic nanomotors can be swiftly turned on and off, and these cata-lytic nanomotors can also move in the vertical direction. The interplaying nanoforces that govern the propulsion and alignment are investigated. The modeling of catalytic nanomotors proposed in previous works has been confirmed quan-titatively here. Finally, the prowess of the precision manipulation of catalytic nanomotors by E-fields is demonstrated in two applications: the capture, transport, and release of cargos to pre-patterned microdocks, and the assembly of catalytic nanomotors on NEMS to power the continuous rotation. The innovative concepts and approaches reported in this work could further advance ideal applications of catalytic nanomotors, e.g. for assembling and powering nanomachines, nano-robots, and complex NEMS devices

Controlling bacteriophage phi29 DNA-packaging motor by addition or discharge of a peptide at N-terminus of connector protein that interacts with pRNA

Bacteriophage phi29 utilizes a motor to translocate genomic DNA into a preformed procapsid. The motor contains six pRNAs, an enzyme and one 12-subunit connector with a central channel for DNA transportation. A 20-residue peptide containing a His-tag was fused to the N-terminus of the connector protein gp10. This fusion neither interfered with procapsid assembly nor affected the morphology of the prolate-shaped procapsid. However, the pRNA binding and virion assembly activity were greatly reduced. Such decreased functions can be switched back on by the removal of the tag via protease cleavage, supporting the previous finding that the N-terminus of gp10 is essential for the pRNA binding. The DNA-packaging efficiency with dimeric pRNA was more seriously affected by the extension than with monomeric pRNA. It is speculated that the fusion of the tag generated physical hindrance to pRNA binding, with greater influence for the dimers than the monomers due to their size. These results reveal a potential to turn off and turn on the motor by attaching or removing, respectively, a component to outer part of the motor, and offers an approach for the inhibition of viral replication by using a drug or a small peptide targeted to motor components

Quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker method combined with UPLC-PAD fingerprint analysis based on saikosaponin for discrimination of Bupleuri Radix according to geographical origin

Background: Saikosaponins are regarded as one of the most likely antipyretic constituents of Bupleuri Radix, establishing a comprehensive method that can reflect both the proportion of all constituents and the content of each saikosaponin is critical for its quality evaluation.Methods: In this study, the combination method of quantitative analysis of multiple components with a single marker (QAMS) and fingerprint was firstly established for simultaneous determination of 7 kinds of saikosaponins in Bupleuri Radix by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC).Results: The results showed that saikosaponin d was identified as the optimum IR by evaluating the fluctuations and stability of the relative calibration factors (RCFs) under four different conditions. The new QAMS method has been confirmed to accurately quantify the 7 kinds of saikosaponins by comparing the obtained results with those obtained from external standard method and successfully classify the 20 batches of Bupleuri Radix from 8 provinces of China. The experimental time of fingerprint was significantly reduced to approximate 0.5 h through UPLC-PAD method, a total of 17 common peaks were identified.Conclusion: The QAMS-fingerprint method is feasible and reliable for the quality evaluation of Bupleuri Radix. This method could be considered to be spread in the production enterprises of Bupleuri Radix

Phage vB_PaeS-PAJD-1 Rescues Murine Mastitis Infected With Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogen that causes a variety of infections in humans and animals. Due to the inappropriate use of antibiotics, multi-drug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa strains have emerged and are prevailing. In recent years, cow mastitis caused by MDR P. aeruginosa has attracted attention. In this study, a microbial community analysis revealed that P. aeruginosa could be a cause of pathogen-induced cow mastitis. Five MDR P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from milk diagnosed as mastitis positive. To seek an alternative antibacterial agent against MDR, P. aeruginosa, a lytic phage, designated vB_PaeS_PAJD-1 (PAJD-1), was isolated from dairy farm sewage. PAJD-1 was morphologically classified as Siphoviridae and was estimated to be about 57.9 kb. Phage PAJD-1 showed broad host ranges and a strong lytic ability. A one-step growth curve analysis showed a relatively short latency period (20 min) and a relatively high burst size (223 PFU per infected cell). Phage PAJD-1 remained stable over wide temperature and pH ranges. Intramammary-administered PAJD-1 reduced bacterial concentrations and repaired mammary glands in mice with mastitis induced by MDR P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, the cell wall hydrolase (termed endolysin) from phage PAJD-1 exhibited a strong bacteriolytic and a wide antibacterial spectrum against MDR P. aeruginosa. These findings present phage PAJD-1 as a candidate for phagotherapy against MDR P. aeruginosa infection

Multiomics integration reveals the effect of Orexin A on glioblastoma

Objectives: This study involved a multi-omics analysis of glioblastoma (GBM) samples to elaborate the potential mechanism of drug treatment.Methods: The GBM cells treated with or without orexin A were acquired from sequencing analysis. Differentially expressed genes/proteins/metabolites (DEGs/ DEPs/ DEMs) were screened. Next, combination analyses were conducted to investigate the common pathways and correlations between the two groups. Lastly, transcriptome-proteome-metabolome association analysis was carried out to determine the common pathways, and the genes in these pathways were analyzed through Kaplan-Meier (K-M) survival analysis in public databases. Cell and animal experiments were performed to investigate the anti-glioma activity of orexin A.Results: A total of 1,527 DEGs, 52 DEPs, and 153 DEMs were found. Moreover, the combination analyses revealed that 6, 4, and 1 common pathways were present in the transcriptome-proteome, proteome-metabolome, and transcriptome-metabolome, respectively. Certain correlations were observed between the two data sets. Finally, 11 common pathways were discovered in association analysis, and 138 common genes were screened out in these common pathways. Six genes showed significant differences in terms of survival in both TCGA and CGGA. In addition, orexin A inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioma in vitro and in vivo.Conclusion: Eleven common KEGG pathways with six common genes were found among different omics participations, revealing the underlying mechanisms in different omics and providing theoretical basis and reference for multi-omics research on drug treatment

Evolution Law and Grouting Treatment of Water Inrush in Hydraulic Tunnel Approaching Water-Rich Fault: A Case Study

Tunnel construction adjacent to the fault fracture zone is prone to water inrush disasters, which pose a serious threat to the safety of tunnel construction. To provide theoretical support for the early warning and prevention of water inrush disasters of the tunnel adjacent to the water-rich faults, a numerical analysis based on the three-dimensional discrete element method (DEM) was performed to study the evolution of the displacement and seepage fields of the water-resistant rock mass of a tunnel adjacent to a water-rich fault during the water inrush process by taking the Xianglushan tunnel as the research project. With reference to the obtained results, a grouting reinforcement scheme was developed, and its effectiveness was evaluated. The results indicated that as the tunnel face approached the water-rich fault fracture zone, the effect of water pressure gradually became obvious, and the displacement at the face continuously increased. When the tunnel face was excavated to the position 5 m from the fault, the displacement at the center of the face changed suddenly with a sudden increase in water pressure. The water-resistant rock mass ahead of the center of the face was damaged, and a water inrush disaster occurred in the tunnel. Numerical simulation results demonstrated the feasibility of the grouting reinforcement scheme. The assessment based on the borehole acoustic waves, borehole TV, geological radar detection, and convergence monitoring as well as the excavation results confirmed that the water inrush disasters in the 2# adit of Xianglushan tunnel adjacent to the water-rich fault were effectively prevented and controlled, which can provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of the frequent water inrush disasters in underground projects constructed in the water-rich fault area

Chemical Constituents and Pharmacological Activity of Agarwood and Aquilaria Plants

Agarwood, a highly precious non-timber fragrant wood of Aquilaria spp. (Thymelaeaceae), has been widely used in traditional medicine, religious rites, and cultural activities. Due to the inflated demanding and depleted natural resources, the yields of agarwood collected from the wild are shrinking, and the price is constantly rising, which restricts agarwood scientific research and wide application. With the sustainable planting and management of agarwood applied, and especially the artificial-inducing methods being used in China and Southeast Asian countries, agarwood yields are increasing, and the price is becoming more reasonable. Under this condition, illuminating the scientific nature of traditional agarwood application and developing new products and drugs from agarwood have become vitally important. Recently, the phytochemical investigations have achieved fruitful results, and more than 300 compounds have been isolated, including numerous new compounds that might be the characteristic constituents with physiological action. However, no one has focused on the new compounds and presented a summary until now. Alongside phytochemical advances, bioactivity screening and pharmacological investigation have also made a certain progress. Therefore, this review discussed the new compounds isolated after 2010, and summarized the pharmacological progress on agarwood and Aquilaria plants